Recording apparatus

ABSTRACT

A recording apparatus includes: a first housing; a second housing pivotable about a shaft relative to the first housing between a close position and a distant position; and a tank mount portion provided in the second housing such that a mounting direction of a tank with respect to the tank mount portion in a state in which the second housing is at the distant position has a downward component in a vertical direction. The tank mount portion includes a resistance applying mechanism which applies a resistance force to the tank in a state in which at least a part of the tank is inserted into the tank mount portion when the second housing is at the distant position.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is a reissue application of U.S. Pat. No.9,004,676 B2, which issued from U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/434,203 filed on Mar. 29, 2012 and which claims priority fromJapanese Patent Application No. 2011-079592, which was filed on Mar. 31,2011, the disclosure disclosures of which is are herein incorporated byreference in its their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a recording apparatus which records animage on a recording medium.

2. Discussion of Related Art

There is known a recording apparatus that includes a tank mount portionin which a tank, which stores a recording agent for an image recordingon a recording medium, is mounted. The recording apparatus includes afirst housing and a second housing. The first housing is located belowthe second housing and has the tank mount portion. The second housing ispivotable upward relative to the first housing between a close positionat which the second housing is adjacent to the first housing and adistant position at which the second housing is distant farther from thefirst housing than the second housing at the close position.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In the above-described recording apparatus, however, the inventors ofthe present invention found that the following problem occurred in acase where the tank mount portion is disposed in the second housing. Theproblem occurs in a case where, when the second housing is pivoted foranother purpose (such as a maintenance work) beside attaching anddetaching of the tank, the tank is in the process of being mounted inthe tank mount portion, i.e., the tank is located in the tank mountportion, but is not thoroughly mounted (fixed) therein. In this case, asthe second housing is pivoted, the tank is moved inside the tank mountportion simultaneously with the rotation of the second housing. As aresult, it is possible that the tank collides with the tank mountportion, and that the tank and the tank mount portion are damaged.Further, even in a case where the tank is mounted in the tank mountportion by a user in a state in which the second housing is positionedat the distant position, it is also predicted that the tank and the tankmount portion are damaged.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide arecording apparatus to restrain an impact between the tank and the tankmount portion.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, according to the presentinvention, there is provided a recording apparatus comprising: a firsthousing; a second housing configured to be connected to the firsthousing via a shaft and pivotable about the shaft relative to the firsthousing between a close position at which an image is recorded on arecording medium and a distant position at which the second housing isdistant farther from the first housing than at the close position; and atank mount portion provided in the second housing such that a mountingdirection of a tank with respect to the tank mount portion in a state inwhich the second housing is at the distant position has a downwardcomponent in a vertical direction, the tank storing a recording agentfor an image recording on the recording medium. The tank mount portionincludes a resistance applying mechanism configured to apply aresistance force, when the second housing is at the distant position, tothe tank in a state in which at least a part of the tank is insertedinto the tank mount portion. The resistance force is different from akinetic friction force which is applied from an inner surface of thetank mount portion to the tank and which acts in a direction opposite tothe mounting direction.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and optional objects, features, and advantages of the presentinvention will be better understood by reading the following detaileddescription of the embodiments of the invention when considered inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of an inkjet printeras an embodiment of a recording apparatus to which the present inventionis applied;

FIG. 2 is a side view schematically showing an internal construction ofthe inkjet printer;

FIGS. 3A through 3C are illustrative views showing a structure of acartridge mount portion and a resistance applying mechanism. FIG. 3A isa front view of the cartridge mount portion, FIG. 3B is across-sectional view taken along a line in FIG. 3A, and FIG. 3C is across-sectional view of an upper housing at a distant position; and

FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B are illustrative views showing a modified embodimentof a resistance applying mechanism of the inkjet printer as theembodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4A is a front view of acartridge mount portion and FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view takenalong a line IV-IV in FIG. 4A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, there will be described embodiments of the presentinvention with reference to the drawings.

There will be described an overall configuration of an inkjet printer 1as an embodiment of a recording apparatus to which the present inventionis applied with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2.

The inkjet printer 1 includes an upper housing 1a (as an example of asecond housing) and a lower housing 1b (as an example of a firsthousing) each of which has a rectangular parallelepiped shape and whichhave substantially the same size. The upper housing 1a has an opening ona lower surface thereof and the lower housing 1b has an opening on anupper surface thereof. In a state in which the upper housing 1a issuperposed on the lower housing 1b such that the lower surface of theupper housing 1a and the upper surface of the lower housing 1b aresealed with each other, an internal space of the inkjet printer 1 isdefined as shown in FIG. 2. In an upper portion of a top panel of theupper housing 1a, a sheet-discharge portion 31 is disposed. In the spacedefined by the upper housing 1a and the lower housing 1b, there isformed a sheet feed path through which a recording sheet P is fed from asheet-feed unit 1c (described later) to the sheet-discharge portion 31along a thick arrow shown in FIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, the upper housing 1a is connected to the lowerhousing 1b via a shaft 1h which is disposed at a side of a bottom end ofthe upper housing 1a and extends in a main scanning direction. The upperhousing 1a is pivotable about the shaft 1h relative to the lower housing1b. The upper housing 1a is pivotable between a close position, aposition shown in FIG. 2, at which the upper housing 1a is adjacent tothe lower housing 1b and a distant position, a position shown in FIG. 1,at which the upper housing 1a is positioned farther away from the lowerhousing 1b than at the close position. In a state in which the upperhousing 1a is at the distant position, a part of the sheet feed paththat is formed by the upper housing 1a at the close position and thelower housing 1b is exposed to the outside, so that a workspace isprovided for a user in the sheet feed path. Since the workspace issecured by the upper housing 1a at the distant position, the user canperform a jam treatment and maintenance works in a recording portion 9and a supporting portion 60. The jam treatment is a work in which theuser removes a jammed recording sheet P in the sheet feed path during arecording operation. The maintenance works in the recording portion 9includes a work in which the user removes a foreign matter adhered to anejection surface 10a, a work in which the user adjusts a position inwhich a head 10 is disposed, a work in which the user replaces the head10 with another, and so on. Further, the maintenance works in thesupporting portion 60 includes a work in which the user removes aforeign matter adhered to a supporting surface 61a, a work in which theuser adjusts a position in which the supporting portion 60 is disposed,a work in which the user replaces the supporting portion 60 withanother, and so on. Furthermore, the maintenance works includes acleaning work and a replacement work of composing elements that areaccommodated in the upper housing 1a and the lower housing 1b such as asheet-supply roller 21, guides 20, and pairs of feed rollers 22 through28. In the shaft 1h, there is disposed a spring (not shown) whichapplies a force to the upper housing 1a in a direction in which theupper housing 1a is opened or moved from the close position to thedistant position. In the present embodiment, the upper housing 1a can beopened up to an inclined angle of about 35 degrees with respect to ahorizontal surface. The distant position of the upper housing 1a is notlimited to the position shown in FIG. 1. The distant position can be aposition that is different from the close position and at which theupper housing 1a is distant farther from the lower housing 1b than theupper housing 1a at the close position.

In a front side of the upper housing 1a or a surface on a left side of asheet plane of FIG. 1, there is disposed a lock mechanism 70 whichlimits a pivot of the upper housing 1a at the close position. In a frontside of the lower housing 1b, there is disposed a cover 1d which coversthe front side of the upper housing 1a and can be opened and closed. Thecover 1d is pivotable about a shaft 1g that is disposed in a lower endof the cover 1d such that the front side of the upper housing 1a isopened and closed. When the cover 1d is opened, the lock mechanism 70and two cartridges 35 are exposed to the outside. In a case where theupper housing 1a is pivoted from the close position to the distantposition, the user first opens the cover 1d and releases a limitation bythe lock mechanism 70. The upper housing 1a is then pivoted from theclose position to the distant position. On the other hand, in a casewhere the upper housing 1a is returned from the distant position to theclose position, after the upper housing 1a is returned from the distantposition to the close position by the user, the pivot of the upperhousing 1a is limited by the lock mechanism 70, and then the cover 1d isclosed.

In the upper housing 1a, there are accommodated two heads 10 (a pre-coathead 10 which ejects a pretreatment liquid and an inkjet head 10 whichejects a black ink, in an order from an upstream side in a sheet feeddirection shown in the thick arrow in FIG. 2), a frame 3 which supportsthe two heads 10 and an upper one of a pair of feed rollers 24, the twocartridges 35 which are respectively mounted in two cartridge mountportions 80 (as an example of a tank mount portion), and a controller 1p(shown in FIG. 2) which controls operations of respective portions ofthe printer 1. In the present embodiment, the two heads 10 and the frame3 constitute the recording portion 9 which records an image on therecording sheet P. The two heads 10 are held by the upper housing 1athrough the frame 3.

In the upper housing 1a, there are also accommodated upper rollers 25,26 of two pairs of feed rollers 25, 26, an upper guide 29 of two guides29 that are disposed between the feed rollers 25, 26, two pairs of feedrollers 27, 28, and two pairs of guides 29 that are disposed between thetwo pairs of feed rollers 26, 28 in the sheet feed direction. In otherwords, when the upper housing 1a is pivoted from the close position tothe distant position, the above-described accommodated components areall moved with the upper housing 1a. In FIG. 2, an illustration of somecomponents that are accommodated in the upper housing 1a is omitted.

The lower housing 1b accommodates or retains the supporting portion 60and the sheet-feed unit 1c. The lower housing 1b also accommodates asheet sensor 32, two pairs of feed rollers 22, 23, and two pairs ofguides 29 that are disposed between the sheet-feed unit 1c and the pairof feed rollers 23 in the sheet feed direction.

Each cartridge 35 (as an example of a tank) stores the pretreatmentliquid or the black ink as a recording agent that is supplied to acorresponding head 10. Hereinafter, the pretreatment liquid and theblack ink are generally referred to as a liquid. The pretreatment liquidis a liquid for preventing an ink bleeding (leaking) and exuding, forimproving a chromogenic effect and a fast-dry effect, and so forth.

The cartridge 35 has a rectangular parallelepiped configuration. Asshown in FIG. 3C, in a front surface 35a of the cartridge 35 as asurface of the cartridge 35 on a downstream portion in a mountingdirection of the cartridge 35 relative to the cartridge mount portion80, there are disposed a liquid supply portion 36 and a contact 37. Theliquid supply portion 36 and the contact 37 are arranged side by side inthe main scanning direction. The liquid supply portion 36 consists of anelastic member such as rubber that seals an opening formed in the frontsurface 35a of the cartridge 35. When the cartridge 35 is mounted in thecartridge mount portion 80, a hollow needle 86 (described later)penetrates through the liquid supply portion 36, i.e., the elasticmember, and the cartridge 35 is connected to the corresponding head 10through a tube (not shown) and a pump (not shown) that are connected tothe hollow needle 86. Thus, the liquid stored in the cartridge 35 issupplied to the head 10. In addition, each pump is driven by thecontroller 1p only in a case where the liquid is forcibly supplied tothe corresponding head, i.e., in a case where a purging operation isperformed or an initial induction of the liquid is performed. Because anegative pressure occurs in a channel in the head 10 during an imagerecording, the liquid in the cartridge 35 is automatically supplied tothe head 10. In the present embodiment, the contact 37 of the cartridge35 is a contact of IC chip type in which liquid data, e.g., a sort andan amount of the liquid, and so on are stored. The contact 37 may be acontact which supplies electricity to a sensor or the like that isdisposed in the cartridge 35.

Each head 10 is a line-type head extending in the main scanningdirection and having a generally rectangular parallelepipedconfiguration. Two heads 10 are distanced from each other in asub-scanning direction and supported by the frame 3. Each head 10 issupported by the frame 3 so as to be opposed to the supporting portion60 at an interval suitable for the recording in the state in which theupper housing 1a is at the close position. In an upper surface of eachhead 10, there is disposed a joint to which the tube connected to thehollow needle 86 is attached. A lower surface of each head 10 is anejection surface 10a in which a plurality of nozzles or ejectionopenings are formed. Further, there is formed a channel in each head 10through which the liquid supplied from the cartridge 35 is sent to thenozzles.

The sheet-supply unit 1c includes a sheet-supply tray 20 and thesheet-supply roller 21. The sheet-supply tray 20 is detachably attachedto the lower housing 1b in the sub-scanning direction. The sheet-supplytray 20 is a box-like member opening upward and can accommodate therecording sheets P with a plurality of sizes. The sheet-supply roller 21is rotated by controlling of the controller 1p so as to supply anuppermost one of the recording sheets P stored in the sheet-supply tray20. The recording sheet P supplied by the sheet-supply roller 21 is fedto the supporting portion 60, guided by the guides 29 and nipped by thefeed rollers 22, 23, in order.

The supporting portion 60 is located to be opposed to the recordingportion 9 in a vertical direction. The supporting portion 60 includestwo platens 61 which are respectively opposed to the corresponding heads10, and a frame 11 which supports the platens 61. The frame 11 rotatablysupports a lower one of the pair of the feed rollers 24.

Each platen 61 has a size that is slightly larger than that of theejection surface 10a of each head 10 in the main scanning direction andin the sub-scanning direction and is opposed to the ejection surface 10ain the vertical direction.

An upper surface of the platen 61 is the supporting surface 61a which isopposed to the ejection surface 10a and supports the recording sheet P.A material and working (processing) are devised so as to be suitable forsupporting of the recording sheet P. For example, such a way that alightly-adhesive silicon layer is formed on the supporting surface 61aor that a multiplicity of ribs in the sub-scanning direction are formedon the supporting surface 61a prevents the recording sheet P placed onthe supporting surface 61a from rising from the supporting surface 61a.The platen 61 is formed of a resin.

In the present embodiment, when the controller 1p receives a command forthe recording from an external device, based on the recording command,the controller 1p drives a sheet-supply motor (not shown) for thesheet-supply roller 21, feed motors (not shown) for the respective pairsof feed rollers 22 through 28, and so on. The recording sheet P suppliedfrom the sheet-supply tray 20 is fed to the supporting portion 60through the guides 29. The recording sheet P sent to the supportingportion 60 is conveyed, supported by the supporting surface 61a andnipped by the pairs of feed rollers 23, 24, 25 that are rotated. Whenthe recording sheet P passes right below the two heads 10 in order, eachhead 10 is driven by the control of the controller 1p to eject theliquid through the nozzles of each ejection surface 10a toward a surfaceof the recording sheet P, so that an image is formed on the recordingsheet P. An ink ejection from the nozzles of each head 10 is performedbased on a detection signal from the sheet sensor 32 under the controlof the controller 1p. The recording sheet P is then fed upward, guidedby the guides 29 and nipped by the pairs of feed rollers 26, 27, 28, anddischarged to the sheet-discharge portion 31 through an opening 30 thatis formed in an upper portion of the upper housing 1a.

During the recording operation, the controller 1p can detect whether ajamming (a jamming of the recording sheet P in the sheet feed path)occurs. More precisely, the jamming is detected by the controller 1p,based on signals from the sheet sensor 32 and/or respective drive motorsof the pair of feed motors 22 through 28. In a case where the jammingoccurs during the recording operation, the controller 1p controls theheads 10 and the respective motors such that the recording operation isstopped (suspended). Then, in order to perform the jam treatment, i.e.,a work in which the jamming of the recording sheet P in the sheet feedpath is cleared, the user opens the cover 1d and, after the limitationby the lock mechanism 70 is released, pivots the upper housing 1a fromthe close position to the distant position. After the jammed recordingsheet P is removed by the user in the workspace formed between the upperand the lower housings 1a, 1b, the upper housing 1a is returned to theclose position. Then, the pivot of the upper housing 1a is limited bythe lock mechanism 70 and the cover 1d is closed. The jam treatment isthus finished. After the jam treatment is finished, the recordingoperation starts when the controller 1p again receives the recordingcommand from the external device.

Hereinafter, the cartridge mount portion 80 will be described withreference to FIGS. 1 through 3.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the two cartridge mount portions 80 aredisposed in the upper portion of the upper housing 1a. As shown in FIG.1 and FIG. 3A, the two cartridge mount portions 80 are arranged side byside in the main scanning direction. As shown in FIG. 3A, the twocartridge mount portions 80 are formed symmetrically with respect to aline L (indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 3A) which passes onjust a middle of the two cartridge mount portions 80 in the mainscanning direction and extends in the vertical direction. In the presentembodiment, because the two cartridge mount portions 80 have the samestructure, one of the two cartridge portions 80 will be described asfollows.

As shown in FIGS. 3A through 3C, the cartridge mount portion 80 has arecessed portion 81 to which the cartridge 35 having a generallyrectangular parallelepiped shape is attachable. An opening 81b of therecessed portion 81 is an insertion opening in which the cartridge 35 isinserted and is formed in the front surface of the upper housing 1a. Therecessed portion 81 extends from the opening 81b toward the downstreamportion in the mounting direction of the cartridge 35 in the cartridgemount portion 80. Accordingly, the mounting direction of the cartridge35 in the cartridge mount portion 80 is a horizontal direction in thestate in which the upper housing 1a is at the close position, as shownin FIG. 3B, and is a direction having a downward component in thevertical direction in the state in which the upper housing 1a is at thedistant position, as shown in FIG. 3C. There are disposed a contact 83and the hollow needle 86 in a bottom portion 82 as a downstream surfaceof the recessed portion 81 in the mounting direction of the cartridge 35in the cartridge mount portion 80. The contact 83 and the hollow needle86 are arranged side by side in the main scanning direction. When thecartridge 35 is thoroughly mounted in the recessed portion 81, thecontact 83 is electrically connected to the contact 37 (shown in FIG.3C). In the present embodiment, a state in which the cartridge 35 isthoroughly mounted in the recessed portion 81 is a state in which thecartridge 35 is positioned at a position where the cartridge 35 isarranged when the hollow needle 86 penetrates through the liquid supplyportion 36. The contact 83 in the present embodiment consists of an ICboard. As a modified embodiment, the contact 83 may be a contact whichis electrically connected to a contact which supplies electric power toa sensor and so on that are disposed in the cartridge 35. The hollowneedle 86 protrudes from the bottom portion 82 along the mountingdirection of the cartridge 35. The hollow needle 86 is connected to thetube (not shown) that is connected to the head 10. When the hollowneedle 86 penetrates through the liquid supply portion 36, the cartridge35 is connected to the corresponding head 10 that is opposed to thecartridge 35.

As shown in FIG. 3, there is formed a penetrating portion 84 at aposition adjacent to the contact 83 and the hollow needle 86. Thepenetrating portion 84 is disposed at a lower inner surface 81a of therecessed portion 81. There is disposed a resistance applying mechanism90 in the penetrating portion 84 of the cartridge mount portion 80. Theresistance applying mechanism 90 includes a pivot member 91 (as anexample of a moving body), an engaging portion 95 and a spring 92. Thepenetrating portion 84 is located at a position that is aligned with thehollow needle 86 in the mounting direction of the cartridge 35 in thecartridge mount portion 80. In other words, the resistance applyingmechanism 90 is located at the position that is aligned with the hollowneedle 86 in the mounting direction of the cartridge 35 in the cartridgemount portion 80.

As a modified embodiment, the penetrating portion 84 may be disposed ata left, a right or an upper inner surface of the recessed portion 81other than the lower inner surface 81a of the recessed portion 81, andthe resistance applying mechanism 90 may be disposed therein.

The pivot member 91 is pivotably supported by a shaft 89 which isdisposed in the penetrating portion 84 and extends in the main scanningdirection. The penetrating portion 84 is located on an upstream portionof the contact 82 and an end of the hollow needle 86 in the innersurface 81a in the mounting direction. In other words, the pivot member91 is located so as to apply the resistance to the cartridge 35 on theupstream portion of the contact 83 and the end of the hollow needle 86in the mounting direction. As shown in FIG. 3B, the pivot member 91includes a horizontal portion 91a which extends horizontally in thesub-scanning direction in the state in which the upper housing 1a is atthe close position and an inclining portion 91b which extends obliquelydownward from one of opposite ends of the horizontal portion 91a, andhas a L-shaped configuration. An upper surface of the horizontal portion91a constitutes a part of the lower inner surface 81a of the recessedportion 81 in the state in which the upper housing 1a is at the closeposition.

One of opposite ends of the coil spring 92 (as an example of a forceapplying portion) is fixed to a lower end portion of the incliningportion 91b, i.e., one of opposite end portions thereof that is fartheraway from the shaft 89. The other end of the spring 92 is fixed to aflange 93 that is formed in a lower surface of the cartridge mountportion 80. Accordingly, the pivot member 91 is applied a force by thespring 92 in a clockwise direction in FIG. 3B. In the presentembodiment, the coil spring 92 is adopted as the force applying portion,but any elastic member can be adopted as long as the elastic member canapply a force to the pivot member 91 in the clockwise direction in FIG.3B. The spring 92 is also supported by the upper housing 1a.

In the lower end portion of the inclining portion 91b, there is formed aprojecting portion 97. In the upper housing 1a, a stopper 94 is formedin the vicinity of the inclining portion 91b. The projecting portion 97and the stopper 94 constitute a limiting portion 96 which limits a rangeof pivot of the pivot member 91. When the upper housing 1a is pivoted tothe distant position, even though the pivot member 91 is pivoted by theforce of the spring 92, the projecting portion 97 contacts the stopper94 in such a way against the force of the spring 92. The contact betweenthe projecting portion 97 and the stopper 94 limits the pivot range ofthe pivot member 91 such that the horizontal portion 91a stays(maintains) at a projecting position (described later). Thus, the pivotmember 91 is prevented from pivoting too much by the spring 92 and ispositioned at the projecting position, so that, in the cartridge mountportion 80, the cartridge 35 can be certainly stopped from moving in themounting direction in the state in which the upper housing 1a is at thedistant position.

As shown in FIG. 1, the two engaging portions 95 are respectively formedon respective upper ends of two frames 1e that are components of thelower housing 1b. As shown in FIG. 3B, each engaging portion 95 isformed so as to be opposed to the corresponding penetrating portion 84in the state in which the upper housing 1a is at the close position. Theengaging portion 95 also includes an inclined surface 95a which isengageable with the inclined portion 91b in the state in which the upperhousing 1a is at the close position. Further, since the engaging portion95 is engaged with the inclined portion 91b when the upper housing 1a ispivoted from the distant position to the close position, the pivotmember 91 is pivoted in a counterclockwise direction in FIG. 3B.

Hereinafter, the movement of the resistance applying mechanism 90 willbe described. The resistance applying mechanism 90 operatessimultaneously with the pivot of the upper housing 1a. In other words,in the state in which the upper housing 1a is at the close position, thepivot member 91 of the resistance applying mechanism 90 is applied theforce by the spring 92, but the pivot of the pivot member 91 is limitedbecause the inclining portion 91b and the engaging portion 95 areengaged with each other. Therefore, the pivot member 91 is positioned ata retracted position in which the other end of the horizontal portion91a does not project to the recessed portion 81, i.e., does not projectfrom the lower inner surface 81a.

As shown in FIG. 3C, while the upper housing 1a is pivoted from theclose position to the distant position, the pivot member 91 supported bythe upper housing 1a is distanced away from the engaging portion 95 andthe engagement between the engaging portion 95 and the inclining portion91b is released. Accordingly, the pivot member 91 is pivoted by theforce of the spring 92 and the horizontal portion 91a of the pivotmember 91 is positioned at the projecting position where the horizontalportion 91a projects from the lower inner surface 81a. At this time, theprojecting portion 97 contacts the stopper 94, so that the horizontalportion 91a is positioned at the projecting position with certainty.Further, in the state in which the pivot member 91 is at the projectingposition, an inclined surface 91d which is inclined from a top endportion 91c of the horizontal portion 91a toward the upstream portionthereof in the mounting direction is greater in angle with respect tothe lower inner surface 81a than an inclined surface 91e which isinclined from the top end portion 91c of the horizontal portion 91atoward a downstream portion thereof in the mounting direction. Thus, inthe state in which the upper housing 1a is at the distant position, themovement of the cartridge 35 in the mounting direction can be stoppedmore certainly. In addition, when the cartridge 35 is removed from thecartridge mount portion 80, a surface of the cartridge 35 which isopposed to the inner surface 81a is hardly caught (hooked) on theinclined surface 91e, so that the resistance force occurring when thecartridge 35 is removed is reduced.

When the upper housing 1a is pivoted from the distant position to theclose position, a bottom end of the inclining portion 91b first contactsthe inclined surface 95a of the engaging portion 95. Then, as the upperhousing 1a approaches the close position, the inclining portion 91b ispressed by the inclined surface 95a. When the upper housing 1a reachesthe close position, the pivot member 91 is positioned at the retractedposition due to the engagement with the engaging portion 95. Theengaging portion 95 is engaged with the inclining portion 91b againstthe force of the spring 92 such that the pivot member 91 moves from theprojecting position to the retracted position. Thus, the pivot member 91can be selectively positioned at the projecting position or at theretracted position corresponding to the pivot of the upper housing 1a.

As mentioned above, in the present embodiment, only when the upperhousing 1a is at the close position, the pivot member 91 is positionedat the retracted position. At this time, even when the cartridge 35 ismounted in the cartridge mount portion 80, the cartridge 35 can bemounted in the cartridge mount portion 80 without being caught on thepivot member 91. Further, in the state in which the upper housing 1a isat the close position, the mounting direction of the cartridge 35 in thecartridge mount portion 80 is in parallel with the horizontal directionor the sub-scanning direction. Thus, the cartridge 35 can be mounted inthe cartridge mount portion 80 with a given mounting force by the user.Accordingly, without a high-impact between the contacts 37, 83 andbetween the liquid supply portion 36 and the hollow needle 86, andwithout a damage of the cartridge 35 and the cartridge mount portion 80,the cartridge 35 can be mounted in the cartridge mount portion 80.

When the upper housing 1a is pivoted from the close position to thedistant position in a state in which a front end of the cartridge 35 inthe mounting direction or a downstream end of the cartridge 35 in themounting direction is inserted into the recessed portion 81 of thecartridge mount portion 80, the cartridge 35 operates simultaneouslywith the pivot of the upper housing 1a and is moved obliquely downward,i.e., in the direction including the downward component in the verticaldirection relative to the cartridge mount portion 80. Further, when thecartridge 35 is inserted into the recessed portion 81 of the cartridgemount portion 80 in a state in which the upper housing 1a is at thedistant position, as shown in FIG. 3C, the mounting direction of thecartridge 35 relative to the cartridge mount portion 80 extendsobliquely downward, i.e., in the direction including the downwardcomponent in the vertical direction.

At this time, in the state in which the upper housing 1a is at thedistant position, the pivot member 91 is positioned at the projectingposition. Therefore, even when the cartridge 35 quickly and activelymoves from a position indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 3C inthe mounting direction, the movement of the cartridge 35 is stopped bythe pivot member 91. In other words, before the cartridge 35 isthoroughly mounted in the cartridge mount portion 80, an end of thepivot member 91 at the projecting position and the cartridge 35 are incontact with each other, and the resistance for stopping of the movementof the cartridge 35 is applied by the pivot member 91. The resistanceforce is a force different from the kinetic friction force that occursdue to the contact between the cartridge 35 and the left and the rightinner surfaces and the upper and the lower inner surfaces of therecessed portion 81 and a force which acts in an opposite direction tothe mounting direction. An impact power due to the contact with thecartridge 35 and the pivot member 91 is smaller than an impact power dueto the contact with the cartridge 35 and the cartridge mount portion 80when the cartridge 35 is moved to a position in which the cartridge 35is completely mounted in the cartridge mount portion 80. Thus, thecartridge 35 and the pivot member 91 are free of damage by the contactwith them. Since the movement of the cartridge 35 is stopped by thepivot member 91, without having a high-impact on the contacts 37, 83 andthe liquid supply portion 36 and the hollow needle 86, the cartridge 35and the cartridge mount portion 80 are prevented from being damaged.

As described above, in the printer 1 in the present embodiment, even ina case where the upper housing 1a is pivoted from the close position tothe distant position in a state in which the cartridge 35 is in theprocess of being mounted in the cartridge mount portion 80, or even in acase where the cartridge 35 is mounted in the cartridge mount portion 80in a state in which the upper housing 1a is at the distant position, theresistance is applied to the cartridge 35 by the pivot member 91, inaddition to the kinetic friction force between the cartridge 35 and theinner surface 81a. Thus, the impact between the cartridge mount portion80 and the cartridge 35 can be restrained. Accordingly, the cartridgemount portion 80 and the cartridge 35 are less subject to the damage.

By the pivot of the upper housing 1a from the close position to thedistant position, as mentioned before, the user obtains the workspace.When the upper housing 1a is at the distant position and the workspacefor the user is secured, the user can perform the jam treatment and themaintenance works in the recording portion 9 and the supporting portion60. In other words, the upper housing 1a is pivoted from the closeposition to the distant position in order that the user performs the jamtreatment and the maintenance works in the recording portion 9 and thesupporting portion 60, and the upper housing 1a is not pivoted in orderthat the cartridge 35 is inserted into or extracted from the upperhousing 1a. The upper housing 1a is pivoted for the purpose differentfrom the insertion and extraction of the cartridge 35. Therefore, therecan be a case where the upper housing 1a is pivoted from the closeposition to the distant position in a state in which the cartridge 35 isin the process of the mounting in the cartridge mount portion 80, or acase where the cartridge 35 is mounted in the cartridge mount portion 80in a state in which the upper housing 1a is at the distant position. Inthe present embodiment, the impact between the cartridge mount portion80 and the cartridge 35 can be restrained, so that the cartridge mountportion 80 and the cartridge 35 are restrained from being damaged.

The pivot member 91 is located on the upstream portion of the contact 83and the end of the hollow needle 86 in the inner surface 81a in themounting direction. In other words, the resistance can be applied to thecartridge 35 on the upstream portion of the contact 83 and the end ofthe hollow needle 86 in the mounting direction. Accordingly, the contact83 and the hollow needle 86 can be restrained from being damaged.

In the present embodiment, the contact 83 and the contact 37 of thecartridge 35 are electrically connected to each other. In a case wherethe contacts 83, 37 that are electrically connected are deformed, thereis the possibility that the contacts 83, 37 cannot be electricallyconnected to each other. However, since the impact between the cartridge35 and the cartridge mount portion 80 is reduced due to the resistanceapplying mechanism 90, the contacts 37, 83 are restrained from beingdeformed, so that the damage of the cartridge 35 and the cartridge mountportion 80 can be restrained.

Further, if the pivot member is located at a position more distancedfrom the contact 83 and the hollow needle 86 than a center of therecessed portion 81 in the main scanning direction, when the cartridge35 is mounted in the recessed portion 81 in the state in which the upperhousing 1a is at the distant position, there is the possibility that thecartridge 35 is rotated about a contact point of the cartridge 35 andthe pivot member as a center of the rotation and the cartridge 35contacts the contact 83 and the hollow needle 86. In the presentinvention, however, the pivot member 91 is located to be adjacent to thecontact 83 and the hollow needle 86 in the main scanning direction.Therefore, the damage of the contact 83 and the hollow needle 86 can bemore certainly restrained.

Because the resistance applying mechanism 90 includes the pivot member91 which is pivotable between the retracted position and the projectingposition, the cartridge 35 can be stopped from moving in the mountingdirection. Further, the pivot member 91 is at the retracted positionwhen the upper housing 1a is at the close position, so that, when theupper housing 1a is at the close position, the cartridge 35 can beeasily mounted in the cartridge mount portion 80.

Because the resistance applying mechanism 90 also includes the spring 92which applies the force to the pivot member 91 and the engaging portion95 which is engaged with the pivot member 91, simultaneously with thepivot of the upper housing 1a, the pivot member 91 can be surely movedbetween the projecting position and the retracted position.

Since the upper housing 1a supports the recording portion 9 and thelower housing 1b supports the supporting portion 60, when the upperhousing 1a is pivoted from the close position to the distant position,the user can perform the maintenance work in which the jammed recordingsheet P is removed between the recording portion 9 and the supportingportion 60, the maintenance work in the recording portion 9, and themaintenance work in the supporting portion 60.

As a modified embodiment, a resistance applying mechanism 290 as shownin FIGS. 4A and 4B may be adopted. As shown in FIG. 4A, each of the tworesistance applying mechanisms 290 in the modified embodiment isdisposed in the bottom portion 82 of the recessed portion 81 of eachcartridge mount portion 80. Each resistance applying mechanism 290includes two elastic bodies 291 that are arranged side by side in themain scanning direction.

The elastic body 291 includes a spring 292 which is located in acircular hole 82b that is formed in the bottom portion 82, and acylindrical portion 293 which is fixed to the spring 292. A diameter ofthe cylindrical portion 293 is slightly smaller than that of the hole82b. The cylindrical portion 293 is applied a force by the spring 292such that, when no cartridge 35 is mounted in the cartridge mountportion 80, the cylindrical portion 293 is positioned at a projectingposition, a position shown in FIG. 4B, at which a part of thecylindrical portion 293 is projected from the hole 82b. In a state inwhich the cylindrical portion 293 is at the projecting position, an endof the cylindrical portion 293 is located on an upstream portion of theend of the hollow needle 86 in the mounting direction.

In this structure, in the state in which the upper housing 1a is at thedistant position, when the cartridge 35 is quickly and actively moved inthe recessed portion 81 of the cartridge mount portion 80 in themounting direction, the front surface 35a of the cartridge 35 contactsan end of the elastic body 291. At the time, the impact of the cartridge35 in the mounting direction is absorbed by the spring 292. In otherwords, by the elastic body 291, the impact force is reduced and theresistance that stops the movement of the cartridge 35 is applied. As aresult, it is prevented that a high impact is applied to the contacts37, 83 and the liquid supply portion 36 and the hollow needle 86, sothat the damage of the cartridge 35 and the cartridge mount portion 80can be prevented. Then, the user pushes the cartridge 35 into thecartridge mount portion 80 with a force larger than the force by thespring 292 such that the cartridge 35 can be mounted in the cartridgemount portion 80. In the modified embodiment, in a state in which theupper housing 1a is at either one of the distant position or the closeposition, the impact between the cartridge mount portion 80 andcartridge 35 can be restrained and the cartridge 35 can be mounted inthe cartridge mount portion 80. Further, in the modified embodiment, thetwo elastic bodies 291 constitute the resistance applying mechanism 290,so that a structure of the resistance applying mechanism 290 issimplified. The resistance applying mechanism 290 in the modifiedembodiment may consist of one elastic body 291. In this case, it isdesirable that the elastic body 291 is located in a position adjacent tothe contact 83 and the hollow needle 86.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention were described above,however, the present invention is not limited to the illustratedembodiments. It is to be understood that the present invention may beembodied with various changes and modifications that may occur to aperson skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit and scopeof the invention defined in the appended claims. For example, theprinter 1 in the above-mentioned embodiments includes the cartridges 35,but the recording apparatus to which the present invention is appliedmay include no cartridges 35. In other word, the recording apparatus mayinclude the cartridge mount portion 80 in which the cartridge 35 can bemounted. Three or more cartridge mount portions 80 may be disposed inthe main scanning direction or a plurality of the cartridge mountportions 80 may be aligned with each other in the vertical direction.Further, though the cartridge includes a reservoir portion which storesthe pretreatment liquid and the ink as a recording agent that aresupplied to the heads 10 in order to record an image on the recordingsheet, the cartridge may also include waste liquid reservoir portionwhich stores a waste liquid that is discharged from the heads 10.

The contact 37 of the cartridge 35 may not be a contact that iselectrically connected to the contact 83. The contact 37 is enough tohave a structure to contact the contact 83. The contact 83 may not be acontact that is electrically connected to the contact 37 of thecartridge 35. For example, the contact 83 may be a mechanical switchwhich outputs a detection signal when the contact 83 is pressed due tothe contact thereof with the contact 37 of the cartridge 35.

The present invention is applicable to any one of a line-type printerand a serial-type printer. Further, the present invention is, notlimited to a printer, applicable to a facsimile machine, a copiermachine, and so forth, and also applicable to a recording apparatuswhich performs a recording operation by ejecting liquid except ink. Thepresent invention is not limited to an inkjet recording apparatus, andis applicable to, for example, a laser-type recording apparatus, athermal-type recording apparatus and so on. The recording media are notlimited to the recording sheets P, and may be various recordable media.

The resistance applying mechanism 90 may be located at a position thatis aligned with the contact 83 in the mounting direction of thecartridge 35 in the cartridge mount portion 80. The resistance applyingmechanisms 90, 290 may be disposed in the vicinity of the opening 81b ofthe cartridge mount portion 80. In other words, the resistance applyingmechanisms 90, 290 may be located far distanced from the contact 83 andso on. The resistance applying mechanism 90 may have no limiting portion96. Further, in the state in which the pivot member 91 is at theprojecting position, the angle of the inclined surface 91d of thehorizontal portion 91a with respect to the lower inner surface 81a maybe smaller than that of the inclined surface 91e or may be the same asthat of the inclined surface 91e. The elastic body 291 may be formed ofan elastic material such as rubber.

What is claimed is:
 1. A recording apparatus comprising: a supportingportion configured to support a recording medium; a first housingconfigured to support the supporting portion; a recording portionconfigured to record an image on the recording medium supported by thesupporting portion, the recording portion configured to record the imageusing a recording agent; a second housing configured to connect with thefirst housing via a shaft and configured to support the recordingportion, the second housing being further configured to be pivotableabout the shaft, relative to the first housing, between a close positionat which the image is recorded on the recording medium by the recordingportion and a distant position at which the second housing is distantfarther from the first housing than at the close position; and a tankmount portion supported by the second housing such that, a mountingdirection of a tank with respect to the tank mount portion in a state inwhich the second housing is at the distant position has having adownward component in a vertical direction, the tank mount portion beingconfigured to pivot together with the second housing, and the tank beingconfigured to store the recording agent, the mounting direction of thetank in the tank mount portion being a horizontal direction in a statein which the tank mount portion is at a first position, and being adirection having the downward component in the vertical direction in astate in which the tank mount portion is at a second position at whichthe tank mount portion is positioned farther from the supporting portionthan at the first position, wherein the tank mount portion comprises aresistance applying mechanism configured to apply a resistance force,when the second housing is at the distant position, to the tank in astate in which at least a part of the tank is inserted into the tankmount portion in the mounting direction, the resistance applyingmechanism configured to apply the resistance force to the tank inaddition to a kinetic friction force that is applied from an innersurface of the tank mount portion to the tank, and the resistanceapplying mechanism configured to apply the resistance force to act in adirection opposite to the mounting direction, wherein a lower innersurface of the inner surface is configured to face a lower surface ofthe tank in a state in which the tank is inserted into the tank mountportion, wherein the tank mount portion comprises a contact portionconfigured to detect contact with the tank, the contact portion beingprovided on a bottom surface, which is a downstream surface of the tankmount portion in the mounting direction, wherein the resistance applyingmechanism is disposed nearer to a center position of the tank mountingportion than the contact portion in a first direction, which is adirection parallel to the lower inner surface and perpendicular to themounting direction, wherein the resistance applying mechanism comprisesa moving body configured to move from a retracted position to aprojecting position in response to movement of the second housing fromthe close position toward the distant position and configured to movefrom the projecting position to the retracted position in response tomovement of the second housing from the distant position toward theclose position in response to movement of the tank mount portion fromthe first position toward the second position and configured to be movedfrom the projecting position to the retracted position in response tomovement of the tank mount portion from the second position to the firstposition, and wherein the projecting position is a position at which themoving body applies the resistance force to the tank and the retractedposition is a position at which the moving body does not apply theresistance force to the tank.
 2. The recording apparatus according toclaim 1 wherein the resistance applying mechanism is configured to applythe resistance force to the tank at a position distant from the contactportion in the direction opposite to the mounting direction.
 3. Therecording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the resistanceapplying mechanism is located in a position adjacent to the contactportion.
 4. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein theresistance applying mechanism comprises: a force applying portion, whichis configured to apply a force to move the moving body from theretracted position to the projecting position, and an engaging portion,which is configured to be engaged with the moving body, such that themoving body is moved against the force by the force applying portionfrom the projecting position to the retracted positionwhile the secondhousing is pivoted from the distant position to the close position. 5.The recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the resistanceapplying mechanism comprises a limiting portion configured to limit amovement of the moving body such that the moving body is maintained atthe projecting position against the force by the force applyingportionin a state in which the second housing is at the distantposition.
 6. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein themoving body comprises: one inclined surface inclined from a top portionof the moving body in a direction opposite to the mounting direction;and another inclined surface inclined from the top portion of the movingbody in the mounting direction, and wherein an acute angle of the oneinclined surface with respect to the inner surface of the tank mountportion is greater than an acute angle of said another inclined surfacewith respect to the inner surface thereof in a state in which the movingbody is at the projecting position.
 7. The recording apparatus accordingto claim 1, wherein the resistance applying mechanism is formed of anelastic material.
 8. The recording apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the mounting direction is a horizontal direction in the state inwhich the second housing is at the close position.
 9. The recordingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the resistance applyingmechanism comprises: a force applying portion configured to apply aforce to move the moving body from the retracted position to theprojecting position, and an engaging portion configured to be engagedwith the moving body such that the moving body is positioned at theretracted position against the force by the force applying portionin thestate in which the second housing is at the close position.
 10. Therecording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the resistanceapplying mechanism is configured to protrude from the bottom surface ofthe tank mount portion in the direction opposite to the mountingdirection.
 11. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein theresistance applying mechanism and the contact portion are disposed atrespective positions nearer to an end portion of the tank mount portionthan to the center position in the first direction.
 12. The recordingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the resistance applyingmechanism comprises: an elastic member configured to generate theresistance force, and a contact member configured to be in contact withthe tank, and wherein the elastic member is disposed on a downstreamside of the contact member in the mounting direction and at an areaoverlapping with an area of the contact member in the first direction.13. A recording apparatus comprising: a first housing; a second housingconfigured to connect with the first housing via a shaft and to bepivotable about the shaft, relative to the first housing, between aclose position at which an image is recorded on a recording medium and adistant position at which the second housing is distant farther from thefirst housing than at the close position; and a tank mount portionprovided in the second housing such that a mounting direction of a tankwith respect to the tank mount portion in a state in which the secondhousing is at the distant position has a downward component in avertical direction, the tank configured to store a recording agent forrecording an image on the recording medium, wherein the tank mountportion comprises a resistance applying mechanism configured to apply aresistance force, when the second housing is at the distant position, tothe tank in a state in which at least a part of the tank is insertedinto the tank mount portion in the mounting direction, the resistanceapplying mechanism configured to apply the resistance force to the tankin addition to a kinetic friction force that is applied from an innersurface of the tank mount portion to the tank, and the resistanceapplying mechanism configured to apply the resistance force to act in adirection opposite to the mounting direction, wherein the resistanceapplying mechanism comprises a moving body configured to move from aretracted position to a projecting position in response to movement ofthe second housing from the close position toward the distant positionand configured to move from the projecting position to the retractedposition in response to movement of the second housing from the distantposition toward the close position, wherein the projecting position is aposition at which the moving body applies the resistance force to thetank and the retracted position is a position at which the moving bodydoes not apply the resistance force to the tank, and wherein the movingbody comprises a contact surface, which is configured to contact withthe tank being inserted in the tank mounting portion in a state in whichthe moving body is in the projecting position, and which is configuredto be spaced apart from the tank in a state in which the moving body isin the retracted position.
 14. The recording apparatus according toclaim 13, wherein the resistance applying mechanism comprises: a forceapplying portion, which is configured to apply a force to move themoving body from the retracted position to the projecting position, andan engaging portion, which is configured to be engaged with the movingbody, such that the moving body is moved against the force by the forceapplying portion from the projecting position to the retracted positionwhile the second housing is pivoted from the distant position to theclose position.
 15. The recording apparatus according to claim 14,wherein the resistance applying mechanism comprises a limiting portionconfigured to limit a movement of the moving body such that the movingbody is maintained at the projecting position against the force by theforce applying portion in a state in which the second housing is at thedistant position.
 16. The recording apparatus according to claim 13,wherein the moving body comprises: one inclined surface inclined from atop portion of the moving body in a direction opposite to the mountingdirection; and another inclined surface inclined from the top portion ofthe moving body in the mounting direction, and wherein an acute angle ofthe one inclined surface with respect to the inner surface of the tankmount portion is greater than an acute angle of said another inclinedsurface with respect to the inner surface thereof in a state in whichthe moving body is at the projecting position.
 17. The recordingapparatus according to claim 13, wherein the mounting direction is ahorizontal direction in the state in which the second housing is at theclose position.